Cloudburst Ice Magic (9 page)

Lily squealed into his mouth as his tongue
tangled with hers and his cock head sought entrance to her pussy.
She rocked her hips, enjoying the sensual slide of his hard flesh
against her wet lips, but she refused to settle. She wanted to
tease him a little since he took away her chai-flavored treat.

Zach growled and grasped her hips with his
hands, holding her where he wanted her as he speared her pussy with
his shaft. The hot, thick intrusion flooded her senses with
delicious pleasure. Lily wailed and froze, savoring the erotic
tightness of his hard flesh within her. She closed her eyes,
reveling in the sensation of being filled.

God, I could stay right here forever.

But Zach wasn’t in the same frame of mind.
He withdrew his cock only to thrust back in hard until he sat balls
deep within her. Lily gasped and met his gaze. His eyes blazed with
feral intensity as he pulled out slowly until only the head sat
within her grasping sheath.

“Do you want me, Lily?”

“Oh, God, yes, Zach. I want you so much.”
Her voice hadn’t been this breathless in months.

“Are you mine? My ice princess, my lover, my
mate?” His hands tightened on her hips, the tips of his talons
digging into her flesh.

“Yes, Zach. I’m yours. I’ll always be
yours.”

“Then ride me, princess. Ride me and take me
for your own.”

He plunged his shaft into her as he shoved
her down onto his lap and Lily wailed as pleasure swamped her
awareness. Her hips and body seemed to have a mind of their own
because she rocked on him with abandon, no longer tired from the
day.

Green fire flared in Zach’s gaze as he
reached up with one hand and plucked her nipples, sending extra
pleasure into the building maelstrom. Hard, wet sounds of flesh
meeting flesh echoed off the equipment around them and the scents
of spices and flowers perfumed the air. Lily’s attention narrowed
down to the hard cock she rode and the blazing joy in the face of
her Demon.
He’s mine and I’m never giving him up.
She
grinned at him and rocked her hips harder, wanting him to lose as
much control as she would.

“Zach. Oh, God, Zach. I’ve missed this so
much.” She slammed down on him, squeezing her inner muscles as she
dragged her clit along his shaft.

“That’s it, princess. Ride me hard and take
me with you. Make me yours.”

His words combined with his thrusting cock
set her orgasm ablaze. But before she gave into the exploding
ecstasy, she clenched her pussy and ground her hips against his.
Zach’s eyes widened and he threw his head back with a roar as he
pounded into her. Blinding pleasure erupted through Lily and sent
her hurtling toward the stars as Zach gripped his hands to her
hips.

Some instinct deep inside her made her lean
forward and clamp her jaws into his shoulder as her orgasm
thundered through her. She hadn’t meant to bite him or break the
skin, but when his own teeth sank into her shoulder, the fireworks
of ecstasy blew away her intentions.

Waves of euphoria surged through her as
something like peppermint coated her tongue. Lily let herself get
carried away with the bliss and the sweet taste. She flew among the
stars as pleasure continued to swamp her body.

But when the effects of her orgasm faded, so
did her sense of well-being. Pain blossomed like a rancid flower
and her belly cramped as if someone had driven a spike through it.
Lily gasped and opened her eyes, releasing Zach’s shoulder. Silver
blood decorated the pristine white of his skin and chagrin rose in
her chest.

“I’m so sorry, Zach. I didn’t mean to hurt
you.”

He gave her a lazy smile. “It didn’t hurt,
princess. You marked me as we mated. We’re now truly bonded
forever. You’re mine and I’m yours.”

Relief and satisfaction tripped across her
awareness just before another wave of pain hit her gut. She gasped
again, this time folding until her forehead braced against his
chest.

“Lily, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Zach tried to lift her to meet his gaze, but
the pain kept her doubled over too tightly.

“It hurts…so much.”

“What? What hurts?” His voice sounded tense.
“Did I hurt you inside?”

“No…” She shook her head. “Belly hurts.
Can’t breathe it hurts so much. Oh, God.”

A long drawn out moan cut the rest of her
words off as the agony built.
What is wrong with me?
She had
no answer. Another surge of pain took her breath and awareness, and
she gratefully surrendered to oblivion.

Chapter Eleven

Lily slumped against Zach’s chest in
apparent exhaustion and his gut sank. “Lily, what hurts?”
Sweet
Goddess, she’s damn near boneless
. She didn’t respond and her
breathing had turned quick and shallow.

“Lily?” Unease shifted to screaming panic
and he pushed her back to look into her face.

She toppled sideways, nearly cracking her
skull against the side of the jeep before he caught her.
Sweet
Freya, what’s wrong with her?

Silvery liquid marked her lips as her head
lolled on her shoulders and he brushed them with his fingers,
sniffing. The scent of his own blood hit his nose and memory
crystallized to the moment she’d bitten him. It had been erotic and
sensual, but now it left him feeling nothing but dread.
She bit
me.
He’d never met anyone who mated with a human so knew
nothing about how his blood would affect her.

From the looks of things, it affected her
badly.

“Lily!” He wanted to shake her awake, to
have her look up at him with a mischievous smile. But she lay in
his arms like a limp doll.

“Hot fucking hell.” He laid her flat on her
back and tested her pulse, trying to ignore his own pounding heart.
Her blood pounded in her veins like she ran a marathon, but her
body lay inert. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she moaned as if
in pain, her brows contracting. A distant echo of pain hit his gut
through the remnants of their connection, and he grunted.

Zach felt her forehead and hissed as heat
seared his palm. She burned with a raging fever.

“What the fuck?”

Zach’s mind raced. He had to get her cool or
she’d bake her head to death. Rising from their nest beside the
jeep, he carried her closer to the door where the air cooled
considerably. He’d dealt with all sorts of injuries out on the
slopes rescuing people, but never a burning fever. His own people
rarely suffered from them unless they hit the lowlands.

He searched his memories as he wrapped Lily
in her mummy bag to keep her skin safe from harm. He couldn’t
recall a time in all his hundred and seventeen years where he’d
witnessed a fever in his people, much less nursed someone through
one. And he knew next to nothing about fevers in humans. All he did
know was they couldn’t get much above 105 degrees Fahrenheit
without suffering permanent damage.

Think, Snow! Who’d know what to do about
this?

The only answer blazing across his mind held
the face of the Matriarch of Mistweaver Tarn. Zach stared hard at
Lily’s sweating body as he calculated the distance between the
equipment shed and the holy place of the Oro Creek Ice Demons. It
wasn’t far for an Ice Demon to travel in his natural form, but it’d
be cold and Lily could freeze on the way.

Looking at her flushed face, he realized
he’d have a better chance of her surviving the weather than if they
stayed. Usually he hesitated to go out in his natural form, but no
humans would be out in this weather and their rescue wouldn’t
return until the next day.

“Come on, princess. Looks like we’re going
for another hike.”

Lily moaned and her lips twisted in pain,
but she didn’t protest. Dread ate at Zach’s gut as he zipped her
into her bag and tucked her into his arms. Her flushed faced
offered a pink counterpart to her rich, purple bag, and he kissed
her fevered lips. “Hang on, princess.”

Zach threw the door open and stepped into
the storm. Stinging flakes of snow melted instantly against Lily’s
hot skin as he tested the wind. The direction told him it’d blow
them downhill, but he had a little control in directing it toward
the Tarn.

“All right, princess, ever been
wind-surfing?” He cinched the bag around her face and took a deep
breath. “This isn’t like what they do on the water. This is
literally wind-surfing, and it can be a wild ride.” His throat
closed a moment at her still face. “You’d probably love it if you
were awake.”

No chance of that if he didn’t get her to
someone who could help. “Hang on, Lily.”

He tightened his grip and stepped into the
wind.

Under normal circumstances, Zach loved
wind-surfing. The dips and swales of the air currents full of snow
made the ride better than anything humans put together in an
amusement park. But with his arms full of his dying mate, Zach’s
attention remained focused on direction and speed, neither of which
was very controllable during the Spring Fling. Still, he arrived at
the gates of the Tarn in less than twenty minutes and asked to see
the Matriarch while the guards stared curiously at his purple
bundle.

The mists formed a tunnel and the guards
gestured Zach through. “Almost there, Lily. Just hold on a little
longer.”

The scents of the lake intensified and he
found his feet sinking into the rocky shore at the edge of the
water. Snow swirled in artful designs and the songs of the
individual flakes tickled his hearing, but he shoved the beauty
away as he searched for the Matriarch. He remembered Cade’s words
about remaining calm, but the pain inside Lily had grown over the
minutes of their trip. He gritted his teeth against the rising
agony and panic.

“Welcome back, Mr. Snow. How are…” The
Matriarch’s voice trailed off in dismay as she caught sight of her
guests. “Holy Freya. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, Matriarch, but I need your
help.” Zach laid Lily on the beach and unzipped the bag. The heat
rising from her body sent out a puff of steam into the frigid air
and she shifted as if trying to avoid some internal pain.

Icedora crouched beside Lily, her
crystalline dreds falling over her shoulder with a musical chime.
“What happened, Mr. Snow? How did she get into this condition?”

“We…” He hesitated, knowing Lily didn’t like
to share their private life. “We mated and she bit me. I think she
swallowed some of my blood, but as soon as she did, she said she
was in pain.”

“Ah, I see.” Icedora nodded, her expression
grim. “Ice Demon blood is poisonous to humans. The only reason she
hasn’t died yet is because you mated her already.”

Zach swallowed hard. “You said yet. What can
I do now? She’s already swallowed the poison.”

“Pray.”

“What?” Zach rounded on the woman. “Are you
serious? Pray?”

Icedora sighed and met his gaze with sad
determination. “You must take her to the ice cave on the north edge
of the Tarn, just there.” She pointed over Zach’s right shoulder.
“You must tuck her into the bed of snow until she is surrounded by
ice. No sleeping bag. Then you must pray to the Goddess that she’s
strong enough to survive the change.”

“Change?” Zach picked Lily up again, her
heat seeping into him from the bag.

“Yes. She’s becoming half Ice Demon and her
body’s trying to either reject or assimilate your blood into her
own.” The Matriarch smoothed some of Lily’s blonde hair away from
her face. “She’s very strong, but she’ll need your help and your
prayers. I’ve only seen this kind of shift work a few times in my
life.”

“How many of the humans survived the
change?”

The Matriarch’s gaze filled with sorrow.
“Six.”

Zach’s stomach clenched and his gritted his
teeth against the panic. “Lily is strong. She’ll be lucky number
seven. She’s from Vegas and seven is lucky there.”
I
hope.

“Come. Let’s get her into the snow bed and
I’ll leave you to it.” The Matriarch drew him with her to the north
shore of the Tarn.

“Is there nothing else you can do?” Zach
kept his gaze fixed on a blue crevice increasing as they approached
to hold back his fears.

“I will send prayers like you, Mr. Snow, but
in reality it really depends upon you and your mate’s desires.”
Icedora glanced down at Lily’s still face. “She’s strong and
healthy so if her spirit matches her body, she’ll pull through. All
you need to do is let her know you’re here for her and focus on her
pulling through.”

Zach’s gut clenched tighter. Had he managed
to convince Lily he had no interest in the other female human? He
hoped she’d remember despite the pain she endured. He could feel a
shadow of it through their bond and he wanted to roar with his
helplessness. This wasn’t something he could fight with brute
strength. The change would come no matter what. Everything depended
on Lily.

The Matriarch led him into the most
beautiful ice cave he’d ever seen in the New World. Ice stalactites
formed great columns and arches much like the old world cathedrals
and misty shrouds fluttered around a large plush-looking bed. Lacy
designs scrolled across the snowy duvet like a cloth quilt and
marbled ice in blues and whites made up the floor.

“Set her in the bed and tuck the snow
bedding around her.” Icedora pointed at the bed.

“Will it turn down like a traditional bed?”
Zach opened Lily’s purple bag and peeled it off her. Rivulets of
sweat slid over her sides and froze like pearls on the floor.

“Yes. We have some amenities when we choose,
Mr. Snow.”

The Matriarch gave him a quick smile as she
helped him pull back the snow quilt. He set Lily down onto the
frosty mattress and she sank as if in a feather bed. At Icedora’s
urging, he pulled the icy sheets over Lily and tucked her in,
settling onto the bedding beside her.

“I shall leave you to your vigil.” The
Matriarch waved on the mage lights, softly glowing balls of
fractaled snow as she headed for the cave entrance. “Focus on her
survival, Mr. Snow, and on your love for her.”